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BBC's director of news steps aside

The BBC's news chief and her deputy have "stepped aside" as the broadcaster deals with the fallout from a child abuse scandal that has forced its director-general to resign.

Helen Boaden, the BBC's director of news and current affairs, and her deputy, Steve Mitchell, have handed over their responsibilities to others for the time being, BBC media correspondent Torin Douglas said on Monday.

Their apparent departures from their posts come ahead of a report into the Newsnight program that mistakenly implicated Lord McAlpine in a sex abuse scandal, which is due to be published on Monday.

It follows the resignation of the BBC director-general George Entwistle on Saturday, which has left the embattled corporation in crisis, amid calls for BBC Trust chairman Lord Patten to follow suit.

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There was no formal announcement from the corporation.

The director of BBC Scotland, Ken MacQuarrie, has prepared the report into the botched Newsnight broadcast.

It has been one of the first issues to be tackled by the acting director-general of the BBC, Tim Davie, as he prepares to rebuild trust in the corporation.

He held his first meeting on Sunday night with the BBC Trust since being drafted in as a stand-in for Entwistle.

But his efforts to move on will be hampered by a row which has erupted over the disclosure that Entwistle - who served just 54 days in the post - was to receive a full year's salary of STG450,000 ($A693,160) in lieu of notice.

Under the terms of his contract he was entitled to only six months' pay, but the trust said that the additional payment had been agreed as a reflection of his continuing involvement with the various BBC inquiries now under way.

The move was greeted with anger and disbelief by Britain's MPs. The chairman of the Commons Culture, Media and Sport Committee, John Whittingdale, said the trust had to explain how it could justify such a large pay-off.

"A lot of people will be very surprised that somebody who was in the job for such a short period of time and then had to leave in these circumstances should be walking away with 450,000 of licence fee payers' money," he said.

"Certainly I would want to know from the trust why they think that's appropriate. I find it very difficult to see a justification for that amount of money to be paid to somebody who has had to resign in these circumstances.

"I wouldn't have thought that just because you have to help an inquiry into the Savile allegations you necessarily need to be paid such a large amount of money."

Boaden's position had been in question for several weeks, since the Jimmy Savile scandal erupted early last month when it emerged she had a brief discussion with Entwistle - then BBC director of vision - about a proposed Newsnight investigation into the late DJ's alleged abuse.

There have been repeated suggestions the report was shelved because the BBC had planned tribute programs to Savile, although the BBC has denied this.

The BBC is reporting that Fran Unsworth, the BBC's head of newsgathering, and Ceri Thomas, the editor of BBC's Radio 4 Today program, have been asked to fill in for Boaden and Mitchell.

Before he quit, Mr Entwistle warned that McQuarrie's report could result in disciplinary action against staff, and over the weekend MPs demanded that those directly involved in the broadcast were held to account.

The future of Newsnight may also be in the balance, with Lord Patten warning there would have to be some "tough managerial decisions".

A trust spokesman said Mr Davie - formerly chief executive of BBC Worldwide - would be setting out his plans for dealing with the issues raised by the broadcast "as a first step in restoring public confidence" in the corporation.

For now Downing Street appears willing to give the BBC a chance to get its own house in order in the wake of the crisis triggered by the disclosures of the Savile child abuse, with 10 sources saying ministers would not be "jumping in" to intervene.

Lord Patten, however, acknowledged that the corporation needed to "get a grip" and turn the situation around or his own position would be on the line.